so then... this potty training malarky...

[SuzySheepSmellsNice]

DS is 28 months, and we have been dabbling in potty training quite successfully up to a point. He will quite happily have a wee and sometimes a poo on his potty. When it was incredibly hot weather he spent quite a few days mostly naked, getting in and out of his paddling pool and the bath, quite happily using the potty with no accidents. If he has pants on, however, he just has accident after accident. I've stocked up on tiny pants, chocolate buttons etc and have the next ten days off work. Only once today did he tell me when he needed a wee, and this success was rewarded with 2 (!) chocolate buttons and loads of praise. When he has an accident I am just reminding him that he needs to tell me when he needs a wee and changing his pants, wiping him etc. At no point am I raising my voice or telling him off, but obviously I'm getting frustrated and would like to know if anyone has any pearls of wisdom (please!) that they could share with me to help us! Thanks

he's not ready?

he's pretty young to be training

maybe stop and give it a few weeks/months and start again

But I'm so encouraged when he does his wees on the potty all day :( I might see how he is tomorrow, then if it isn't working I can put it off again.

«shameless bump»

hello, my boy was 28 months when we did it. we used a sticker chart and gave 5 choc buttons after 5 stickers, he loved it. like you the first couple of days were fine with nothing on, but he wet quite a bit when we put pants on. we encouraged him to tell us but also made a point of putting him on the potty every couple of hours or asking him. he eventually got the hang of it and within the week he was dry at home and at nursery. he still went through phases every month or so of having a few accidents but its completely normal. now we just need to tackle night times

At the same age, I used gina ford with my son. The first day without pants made me want to give up - he went through ALL his trousers - but day 2 was much better, we went out on day 3 and by the end of day 4 he was there.
So I would say, if you feel he's ready, carry on. Somewhere on mumsnet, there's a list of indicators that your child is ready, I used it and thought it was spot on.
Good luck. Have some of this while you put on the next inevitable load of washing

I have recently helped to train a little boy that I work with and have over the years trained many children. I would say the number one tip is dont rely on them to tell you. Take him to the toilet/potty every 15 minutes to half an hour depending on how often he is weeing.

Reward him every time he sits on the potty. I would recommend half a chocolate button and increase to a whole one when he goes less often.

Gradually extend the time between visits but I wouldnt rely on him to tell you for ages. Just build using the potty into his routine and see how it goes.

If after your time off work he is still weeing in his pants all the time he is probably not ready but give it a try and see what happens.

Good luck

Thank you all. I just about reached the end of my tether this morning, but I think I will stick with it

I used the book potty training for boys which was great. It suggests the phrase "don't worry, mummy and daddy know you're trying really hard to do all your wees and poos in the potty" rather than correcting. Subtle difference but DS seemed to appreciate it as supportive.

Also, DS had quite a few accidents in pants until nursery pointed out he needed bigger ones so they're a bit loose and easy to pull down. We went up a whole age size. And practice pulling pants down lots and lots, try to make a game of it.

Don't give up. Sounds like he's ready if doing fine when not dressed. Good luck.

QT I could have written your post! Agree totally a few months seemed to make all the difference. We are still in the pooing in the night nappy after a bath stage, glad to see it will pass. Compare our experience to a friend who started her DS age 2 and was still having accidents a year later. I think I will wait even longer with DS2.